Air blower

Abstract

Provided is a blower comprising an air blowing part, a support part that supports the air blowing part, and a control unit that controls the operation of the air blowing part with respect to the support part, wherein the control unit operates the air blowing part so as to delineate a curved path when viewed from the front of the air blowing part.

Description

Blower

[0001] The present invention relates to a blower.

[0002] Conventionally, there are various fans used to cool a space by blowing air. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a fan that suppresses continuous exposure of a user to wind and enables a pleasant wind like a gentle breeze to flow into a room.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-70801

[0004] However, although conventional fans exhibit an excellent air circulation function in a room by means of a so-called spiral airflow, there is room for improvement in the sense of coolness that a user can obtain.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a blower capable of improving the sense of coolness of a user.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention includes a blowing unit, a support unit that supports the blowing unit, and a control unit that controls the operation of the blowing unit with respect to the support unit. The control unit operates the blowing unit so as to draw a curved trajectory when viewed from the front of the blowing unit.

[0007] According to the blower having the above configuration, the sense of coolness felt by a user can be improved.

[0008] Preferably, in the above blower, the control unit operates the blowing unit so as to draw a circular trajectory when viewed from the front of the blowing unit.

[0009] According to the blower having the above configuration, the sense of coolness felt by a user can be further improved.

[0010] Preferably, in the above blower, when the control unit operates the blowing unit so as to draw a circular trajectory when viewed from the front of the blowing unit, the moving amount of the blowing unit in one direction in a predetermined direction is larger than the moving amount of the blowing unit in the other direction opposite to the one direction.

[0011] With the blower configured as described above, it becomes possible to increase the amount of airflow from the lower side to the upper side, for example, in the vertical direction, thereby further improving the cooling sensation felt by the user.

[0012] Preferably in the blower described above, the control unit controls the blower in a first mode in which the blower is operated to trace a first circular trajectory, and a second mode in which the blower is operated to trace a second circular trajectory that is larger than the first circular shape, and the control unit switches the operating mode between the first mode and the second mode.

[0013] With the blower configuration described above, the size of the circular trajectory created by the oscillating airflow unit can be appropriately changed according to the user's preference, further enhancing the cooling sensation the user experiences.

[0014] One aspect of the present invention comprises a blower unit, a support unit for supporting the blower unit, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the blower unit relative to the support unit, wherein the control unit operates the blower unit so that it moves in a first direction while reciprocating in a second direction intersecting the first direction, as viewed from the front of the blower unit.

[0015] With the blower configured as described above, for example, it becomes possible to make the blower oscillate in a triangular wave shape (a so-called zigzag shape) by moving back and forth in the left-right direction while also moving back and forth in the up-down direction, thereby further improving the cooling sensation felt by the user.

[0016] Preferably, in the blower described above, the amount of movement of the blower to one side in the second direction is greater than the amount of movement of the blower to the other side opposite to the first side.

[0017] With the blower configured as described above, it becomes possible to increase the amount of airflow from the lower side to the upper side, for example, in the vertical direction, thereby further improving the cooling sensation felt by the user.

[0018] Preferably, the blower includes an operating unit for operating the blower, a recording unit for storing the trajectory of the operation of the blower operated by the operating unit, and a tracing unit for reproducing the operation of the blower based on the trajectory stored in the recording unit.

[0019] With the blower configured as described above, it becomes possible to easily reproduce oscillating motion according to the user's preference.

[0020] Preferably, in the blower described above, the blowing unit includes a fan and a motor for rotating the fan, the control unit controls the motor to control the rotation speed of the fan, and the control unit controls the motor such that the amount of airflow when the blowing unit is shifted from the front position is higher than the amount of airflow when the blowing unit is in the front position.

[0021] With the blower configured as described above, it becomes possible to effectively adjust the airflow when using the blower to dry things like clothes.

[0022] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fan from the front. Figure 2 is a view of the fan from the front. Figure 3 is a view of the fan from the side. Figure 4 is a view of the fan from the rear. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vertical oscillation mechanism. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the horizontal oscillation mechanism. Figure 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the vertical movement range of the air blower. Figure 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the horizontal movement range of the air blower. Figure 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of the oscillation operation of the air blower. Figure 10 is a diagram showing a specific example of the oscillation operation of the air blower. Figure 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of the oscillation operation of the air blower. Figure 12 is a diagram showing the remote control for the fan. Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the fan. Figure 14 is a perspective view of a modified fan from the front.

[0023] A blower according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions may be omitted.

[0024] In this specification, when the blower 1 is positioned on a horizontal floor or the like, which is the installation surface, the upper side in the vertical direction is referred to as "upper" or "upward," and the lower side in the vertical direction is referred to as "lower" or "downward." The vertical direction may also be referred to as the "up and down direction." The direction in which air is blown out from the blower 1 is referred to as "forward," and the opposite side is referred to as "rear." The direction extending in both the forward and rear directions may be referred to as the "front and back direction." The direction perpendicular to the up and down direction and the front and back direction may be referred to as the "left and right direction." These directions are for explanatory convenience and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the invention. As will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, the installation surface does not necessarily have to be horizontal, and the up and down direction may not correspond to the vertical direction, but even in this case, it is still included within the scope of the present invention.

[0025] [Embodiment 1] [Appearance of Blower 1] Figures 1 to 4 show the appearance of the blower 1 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the blower 1. Figure 2 is a view of the blower 1 from the front. Figure 3 is a view of the blower 1 from the side. Figure 4 is a view of the blower 1 from the rear. As shown in Figure 1, the blower 1 mainly comprises a blower section 2, a support column 4, and a base section 5. The base section 5 is placed on the installation surface, and the support column 4 extends upward from the upper surface of the base section 5 and supports the blower section 2.

[0026] [Air Blower Unit 2] The air blower unit 2 includes a front grille 21, a front cover 25, and a rear grille 22. The rear surface of the rear grille 22 is fixed to the rear cap 31. The rear cap 31 is mounted to the neck cover 32 via a shaft so as to be rotatable up and down. The neck cover 32 is mounted on the upper part of the support column 4.

[0027] The front grille 21 is attached to the ring-shaped front cover 25 from the rear. As a result, as shown in Figure 1, the spiral portion of the front grille 21 is exposed through the central hole of the front cover 25. The front cover 25 can be attached to and detached from the rear grille 22 by rotating it circumferentially relative to the rear grille 22.

[0028] The front grille 21, front cover 25, and rear grille 22 constitute the cover of the air blower unit 2, and a space is formed within this cover. Components such as the propeller fan and the fan motor that rotates the propeller fan are housed in this space within the cover.

[0029] The front grille 21 has a frame member 23 that includes a plurality of rings extending concentrically and a plurality of fins extending in a spiral shape radially outward from the center of the grille. The gaps 24 between adjacent fins in the circumferential direction serve as the air outlets for the air blower 2. Thus, the front grille 21 is a spiral grille in which a plurality of fins are formed in a spiral shape. With this configuration, a highly directional spiral airflow can be generated from the front surface of the front grille 21 toward the front.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, the rear grille 22 has a frame member 25 which includes a plurality of rings arranged concentrically and a plurality of portions that extend radially outward from the center of the grille. The gaps 26 formed in this frame member 25 serve as the intake ports for the air blower 2.

[0031] The propeller fan 27 (Figure 2), located within the blower unit 2, is connected to the output shaft of a fan motor and rotates around the shaft when the fan motor is driven. Specifically, the propeller fan 27 includes a cylindrical boss and a plurality of blades spaced apart in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the boss. When the propeller fan 27 rotates, air is drawn in from the intake port at the rear of the blower 1 and blown out from the outlet port at the front, blowing air forward.

[0032] [Rear cap 31, neck cover 32] As shown in Figure 1, the rear cap 31 and neck cover 32 are located behind the air blower 2. The rear cap 31 is fixed to the rear of the rear grille 22. The neck cover 32 includes a pair of cover members that can be separated into left and right halves, and houses the vertical oscillating mechanism 6 (Figure 5), which will be described later.

[0033] [Up-and-down oscillation mechanism 6] The up-and-down oscillation mechanism 6 is the part that causes the air blower 2 to oscillate up and down relative to the support part which includes the base part 5 and the support column 4.

[0034] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the up-and-down oscillation mechanism 6. As shown in Figure 5, the up-and-down oscillation mechanism 6 includes an up-and-down oscillation motor 61, a first gear 62, a second gear 63, a third gear 64, and a shaft 65. The up-and-down oscillation motor 61 is, for example, a stepping motor and has an output shaft extending in the horizontal direction. The first gear 62 is connected to the output shaft of the up-and-down oscillation motor 61. As shown in Figure 5, the first gear 62 meshes with the second gear 63, and the second gear 63 meshes with the third gear 64. A shaft 65 is inserted into the central hole of the third gear 64, and the shaft 65 is connected to the rear surface of the rear grille 22 via other parts such as bushings. With this configuration, the rotation of the up-and-down oscillation motor 61 is transmitted to the air blower 2 via parts such as the first gear 62, second gear 63, third gear 64, and shaft 65, which function as a transmission mechanism. The up-and-down oscillation operation will be described later.

[0035] [Support column 4] As shown in Figure 1, the support column 4 includes an outer cylindrical portion 42, an inner cylindrical portion 44, and a cylindrical cap 46.

[0036] The outer cylinder portion 42 is the part of the upper surface of the base portion 5 that extends upward from behind the circular center and is integrally molded with the base portion 5. The lower end of the outer cylinder portion 42 is in communication with the inside of the base portion 5.

[0037] The inner cylinder portion 44 is a cylindrical part that extends in the vertical direction. The inner cylinder portion 44 includes a small-diameter cylindrical portion (not shown) that is inserted into the outer cylinder portion 42, and a large-diameter cylindrical portion that is located above the outer cylinder portion 42 and is integrally molded with the small-diameter cylindrical portion. A cylinder cap 46 is positioned at the lower end of the large-diameter cylindrical portion of the inner cylinder portion 44, and a neck cover 32 is fixed to the upper end of the large-diameter cylindrical portion. More specifically, the upper end of the large-diameter cylindrical portion of the inner cylinder portion 44 is inserted into the neck cover 32, and an up-and-down swivel mechanism 6 (Figure 5) is positioned above the upper end.

[0038] The cylinder cap 46 is an annular component and is fitted onto the part of the small-diameter cylinder that connects to the large-diameter cylinder. When the blower 1 oscillates from side to side, the outer cylinder 42 does not rotate, but the inner cylinder 44 rotates around an axis that extends in the vertical direction.

[0039] [Base Section 5] The base section 5 is a pedestal that is placed on a mounting surface such as a floor. The base section 5 is formed in a circular shape when viewed from above. The internal space of the base section 5 contains components such as an operating board including a control unit that controls the operation of the blower 1, and a left-right oscillation mechanism 7 (Figure 6), which will be described later.

[0040] As shown in Figure 1, an operation button 51 is provided on the upper surface of the base 5, specifically in front of the circular center. The operation buttons 51 include, for example, a power button to switch the power on / off, an airflow button to adjust the airflow of the blower unit 2, a left / right oscillation button to switch the left / right oscillation angle, an up / down oscillation button to switch the up / down oscillation angle, and a mode switching button to switch the operating mode of the blower 1. When an operation button 51 is operated by the user, a control unit mounted on the control board detects the operation and performs control according to the content of the operation. Specifically, the control unit controls the blower unit 2 including the fan motor, the up / down oscillation motor 61 (Figure 5), and the left / right oscillation motor 71 (Figure 6), which will be described later. For example, the control unit controls the fan motor to control the rotation speed of the propeller fan.

[0041] As shown in Figure 1, a light-receiving section 52 for receiving infrared rays from the remote control 8 (Figure 12) is provided in front of the circular center of the base portion 5. On the other hand, a remote control holder 53 capable of holding the remote control 8 is provided on the upper surface of the base portion 5 behind the outer cylindrical portion 42. The remote control holder 53 is a recess that is recessed downwards and is large enough to insert the lower part of the remote control 8.

[0042] [Left-Right Swivel Mechanism 7] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the left-right swivel mechanism 7. As shown in Figure 6, the left-right swivel mechanism 7 includes a left-right swivel motor 71, a first gear 72, a second gear 73, a third gear 74, and a left-right swivel shaft 75. The left-right swivel motor 71 is, for example, a stepping motor and has an output shaft extending upward. The output shaft of the left-right swivel motor 71 passes through the gear case 76 vertically, and the first gear 72 is connected to its tip. As shown in Figure 6, the first gear 72 meshes with the upper part of the second gear 73, and the lower part of the second gear 73 meshes with the third gear 74. The second gear 73 has a two-stage structure with an upper large-diameter gear section and a lower small-diameter gear section. The third gear 74 is connected to the left-right swivel shaft 75, and the left-right swivel shaft 75 is connected to the lower end surface of the inner cylinder section 44 via other parts. With this configuration, the rotation of the left-right oscillating motor 71 is transmitted to the air blower 2 sequentially via the first gear 72, second gear 73, third gear 74, left-right oscillating shaft 75, and inner cylinder 44, which function as a transmission mechanism. The left-right oscillating motion of the air blower 2 will be described later.

[0043] [Oscillation Operation] The blower 1 according to this embodiment combines vertical and horizontal oscillation operations to perform the oscillation operation described below.

[0044] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the movable range of the blower unit 2 in the vertical head shaking operation. As shown in FIG. 7, the blower unit 2 shakes its head vertically in the range from the lowermost direction v1 where the output shaft of the fan motor is most downward to the uppermost direction v2 where the output shaft of the fan motor is most upward, based on the state where the output shaft of the fan motor is in the horizontal direction v0. The state of the blower unit 2 when the output shaft of the fan motor faces the lowermost direction v1 is shown as the lowermost state sv1 in FIG. 7, and the state of the blower unit 2 when the output shaft faces the uppermost direction v2 is shown as the uppermost state sv2. The first angle θ1 formed by the horizontal direction v0 and the lowermost direction v1 is, for example, -10°, and the second angle θ2 formed by the horizontal direction v0 and the uppermost direction v2 is, for example, 75°, but each angle is not particularly limited. In the blower 1, the control unit can cause the blower unit 2 to shake its head within this angle range by controlling the drive of the vertical head shaking motor 61 (FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the vertical head shaking range of the blower unit 2 can be selected from the first angle range (for example, -10° to 25°), the second angle range (for example, 15° to 50°), and the third angle range (35° to 75°), but this function may not be provided.

[0045] Figure 8 shows a specific example of the range of motion of the air blower unit 2 during left-right oscillation. As shown in Figure 8, the air blower unit 2 oscillates left and right from the rightmost direction h1, where the output shaft of the fan motor of the air blower unit 2 is facing forward h0, to the leftmost direction h2, where the output shaft is facing left, as viewed from the front. The state of the air blower unit 2 when the output shaft of the fan motor is facing forward h1 is shown as the rightmost state sh1, and the state of the air blower unit 2 when the output shaft is facing leftmost h2 is shown as the leftmost state sh2 in Figure 8. The angle θ3 between the front direction h0 and the rightmost direction h1 and the angle θ3 between the front direction h0 and the leftmost direction h2 are the same magnitude, for example, 30°. In this case, the left-right oscillation range is 60°. Furthermore, the angle can be changed by operating the operation button 51 (Figure 1). In this embodiment, the operation can be changed to a left-right oscillating motion where the angle θ3 is 45° (left-right oscillating range is 90°) or a left-right oscillating motion where the angle θ3 is 60° (left-right oscillating range is 120°). In the blower 1, the control unit controls the left-right oscillating motor 71 (Figure 6) to operate the blower unit 2 within this range.

[0046] [Oscillation Operation Example 1] Figure 9 shows a specific example of the first oscillation operation of the blower unit 2 in the blower 1. As described above, there are ranges for the up-and-down oscillation operation and the left-and-right oscillation operation, and Figure 9 shows the oscillating range a1. In other words, in the blower 1, the direction of the blower unit 2 can be freely changed within this oscillating range a1 by operating the up-and-down oscillation motor 61 (Figure 5) and the left-and-right oscillation motor 71 (Figure 6) under the control of the control unit, thereby changing the direction of the blower unit 2 and changing the wind direction.

[0047] In the blower 1, by controlling the vertical head swing motor 61 and the horizontal head swing motor 71 by the control unit, the blower unit 2 can be operated so as to draw a curved (for example, circular) locus r1 when viewed from the front of the blower unit 2. This circular locus r1 is a locus that rotates in a circular shape around the front position where the output shaft of the fan motor faces the horizontal direction v0 (FIG. 7) and the front direction hθ (FIG. 8) in the vertical and horizontal directions. In the present embodiment, when the control unit operates the blower unit 2 so as to draw a circular locus r1 when viewed from the front of the blower unit 2, the control unit controls so that the movement amount of the blower unit 2 upward is larger than the movement amount of the blower unit 2 downward. That is, the blower unit 2 rotates so as to draw an elliptical locus biased upward when viewed from the front (for example, the head swing angle on the upper side is 25° and the head swing angle on the lower side is -10°).

[0048] [Head Swing Operation Example 2] In the blower 1, the control unit can be made to switch between a plurality of operation modes by a user's operation. The plurality of operation modes include, for example, a first mode in which the blower unit 2 is operated so as to draw a first circular locus, and a second mode in which the blower unit 2 is operated so as to draw a second circular locus larger than the first circular locus. The control unit switches the operation mode of the blower 1 between the first mode and the second mode.

[0049] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the respective operation loci when operating with a locus r1 of a circular shape (second circular shape) having a large diameter and a locus r2 of a circular shape (first circular shape) having a small diameter as described above. For example, the circular locus r2 having a small diameter has a head swing angle in the vertical and horizontal directions that is 1 / 2 of that of the circular locus r1 having a large diameter.

[0050] Note that the operation mode indicating the head swing operation mode of the blower unit 2 is not limited to those described above and may be arbitrarily determined. Also, the operation mode of drawing a circular locus is not limited to two, and a configuration having three or more operation modes may be adopted.

[0051] [Oscillation Operation Example 3] In the blower 1, the control unit may operate the blower unit 2 along a triangular wave-shaped (so-called zigzag shape) trajectory r3, for example, as shown in Figure 11, at the user's operation. The trajectory r3 is a trajectory that moves back and forth multiple times in the vertical direction while moving from one end to the other in the left-right direction. That is, in this operation example, the control unit operates the blower unit 2 so that, when viewed from the front of the blower unit 2, it moves in the left-right direction (first direction) while moving back and forth in the vertical direction (direction intersecting the first direction). In this embodiment, the amount of upward movement of the blower unit 2 is greater than the amount of downward movement of the blower unit 2 (for example, the upward oscillation angle is 25° and the downward oscillation angle is -10°), but it is not limited to this.

[0052] [Characteristics of the oscillating motion in the blower 1] As described above, the blower 1 comprises a blower unit 2, a support unit that supports the blower unit 2, and a control unit that controls the movement of the blower unit 2 relative to the support unit. The control unit is configured to operate the blower unit 2 so that it traces a curved trajectory when viewed from the front of the blower unit 2. The support unit includes at least a base unit 5. With this configuration, the blower 1 can blow air over a wider area towards the user compared to when the position of the blower unit 2 is fixed and air is blown towards the user, thereby improving the cooling sensation felt by the user.

[0053] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9 or Figure 10, the control unit can operate the air blower 2 so that, when viewed from the front of the air blower 2, the center of the air blower 2 traces a circular trajectory. By oscillating the air blower 2 in this way, it becomes possible to send air over a wide area towards the user, further improving the cooling sensation the user feels.

[0054] Furthermore, when the control unit operates the air blower 2 to trace a circular trajectory when viewed from the front of the air blower 2, it controls the movement of the air blower 2 so that the amount of movement of the air blower 2 to one side (e.g., upward) in a predetermined direction (e.g., vertical direction) is greater than the amount of movement of the air blower 2 to the opposite side (e.g., downward). By doing so, the cooling sensation felt by the user can be further enhanced.

[0055] As shown in Figure 10, the control unit controls the operation of the air blower 2 in two modes: a first mode in which the air blower 2 is operated to trace a first circular trajectory r2, and a second mode in which the air blower 2 is operated to trace a second circular trajectory r1 that is larger than the first circular shape, and switches the operating mode between the first mode and the second mode. In this way, the size of the circular trajectory in which the air blower 2 oscillates can be appropriately changed according to the user's preference, further improving the cooling sensation felt by the user.

[0056] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, the control unit operates the air blower 2 so that, when viewed from the front of the air blower 2, it moves in a first direction (for example, left-right) while simultaneously moving back and forth in a second direction (for example, up-down) that intersects with the first direction. By doing so, the cooling sensation felt by the user can be further improved, similar to when the air blower 2 moves along a circular trajectory.

[0057] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, when the air blower 2 is oscillating in a zigzag motion, the amount of movement of the air blower 2 to one side (e.g., upward) in a predetermined direction (e.g., vertical direction) is greater than the amount of movement of the air blower 2 to the other side (e.g., downward). By doing this, the cooling sensation felt by the user can be further improved.

[0058] [Recording and Playback Function for Oscillation Movement] In conventional fans, the oscillation movement of the fan unit is predetermined, and it is only possible to oscillate the fan unit within a predetermined range in the left-right or up-down direction. In this case, it is difficult to meet the need for users to arbitrarily control the oscillation movement according to their preferences.

[0059] Therefore, in the blower 1 according to this embodiment, the user can freely set the oscillation operation of the blower unit 2 using the remote control 8, and moreover, the operation can be stored in the blower 1 and reproduced.

[0060] Figure 12 shows a remote control 8 (operating unit) for controlling the operation of the blower 1. As shown in Figure 12, the remote control 8 has buttons such as an airflow change button, up / down and left / right oscillation buttons, a timer on / off button, up / down / left / right buttons 81 for manually controlling the direction of the blower 2 up / down and left / right, a record button 82 for recording the oscillation operation of the blower 2 controlled by the user, and a play button 83 for playing back the recorded oscillation operation of the blower 2. This explanation will focus on the operation using the up / down / left / right buttons 81, the record button 82, and the play button 83, which are related to the oscillation operation recording and playback function. In this embodiment, the oscillation operation recording and playback function using the remote control 8 will be explained, but it is not limited to this, and the oscillation operation recording and playback may be performed similarly using the operation buttons 51 (operating unit).

[0061] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the blower 1. The blower 1 includes a control unit 100, an up-and-down oscillating motor 61, a left-and-right oscillating motor 71, a fan motor 110, an operation unit 120, a recording unit 130, and a tracing unit 140. As described above, the control unit 100 is composed of various components mounted on an operation board and controls the operation of the blower 1. As described above, the fan motor 110 is located inside the cover of the blower unit 2. The operation unit 120 corresponds to the remote control 8 and the operation buttons 51 on the base unit 5.

[0062] When recording and playing back oscillation movements, the operation unit 120 operates the up-and-down oscillation motor 61 or the left-and-right oscillation motor 71 via the control unit 100 in response to user input, thereby changing the direction of the air blower unit 2. Specifically, the user changes the direction of the air blower unit 2 by arbitrarily operating the up-and-down, left-and-right buttons 81 on the remote control 8.

[0063] The recording unit 130 is a memory device that stores the operation of the up / down / left / right buttons 81 after the user operates the record button 82. The recording unit 130 stores the trajectory of the oscillation movement of the air blower unit 2 by storing the time each of the up / down / left / right buttons 81 is pressed. This storage of the oscillation movement trajectory ends when the user operates the record button 82 again. Only one trajectory is stored in the recording unit 130, and when the next trajectory is to be stored, the already stored trajectory is deleted.

[0064] When the user operates the play button 83, the tracing unit 140 reproduces the operation of the air blower unit 2 based on the trajectory of the oscillation motion recorded in the recording unit 130. At this time, the control unit 100 controls the up-and-down oscillation motor 61 and the left-and-right oscillation motor 71 based on the trajectory information stored in the recording unit 130 to reproduce the oscillation motion of the air blower unit 2.

[0065] As described above, the blower 1 according to this embodiment includes a recording unit 130 and a tracing unit 140, and the tracing unit 140 reproduces the operation of the blower 2 based on the trajectory of the operation of the blower 2 stored in the recording unit 130. This makes it possible to easily reproduce the oscillation operation according to the user's preference. In addition, the functions of operation examples 1 to 3 described above may be omitted in a blower equipped with this recording and playback function.

[0066] In the blower 1, the airflow can be changed according to the direction of the air blower 2. When a predetermined virtual plane is placed in front of the air blower 2, the distance to this virtual plane increases as the direction of the air blower 2 moves away from the front position. Therefore, if the airflow is kept constant regardless of the direction of the air blower 2, the amount of air reaching the virtual plane will decrease depending on the distance from the center position of the air blower 2. For this reason, the control unit 100 controls the rotation of the propeller fan 27 by controlling the fan motor 110, but controls the fan motor 110 so that the airflow from the air blower 2 increases as the air blower 2 moves away from the front position. This makes it possible to suppress the difference in the amount of air reaching the virtual plane and create a configuration in which a constant amount of air can easily reach it. For example, it becomes possible to effectively adjust the airflow when drying clothes using the blower 1.

[0067] The above describes specific embodiments and modifications of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications are merely specific examples of one configuration and one operation of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments but is broadly interpreted to include the scope that can be grasped by those skilled in the art based on a similar technical concept. For example, as shown in Figure 14, a fan with a different external shape of the air blower unit 2 may be equipped with some or all of the functions of operation examples 1 to 3, or a recording and playback function of oscillation may be equipped with or replace the functions of operation examples 1 to 3.

[0068] 1... Blower 2... Blower unit 31... Rear cap 32... Neck cover 4... Support column 5... Base unit 6... Up / down oscillation mechanism 61... Up / down oscillation motor 7... Left / right oscillation mechanism 71... Left / right oscillation motor 8... Remote control (operation unit) 81... Up / down / left / right buttons 82... Record button 83... Play button 100... Control unit 110... Fan motor 120... Operation unit 130... Recording unit 140... Trace unit

Claims

1. A blower comprising: a blower unit; a support unit for supporting the blower unit; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the blower unit relative to the support unit, wherein the control unit operates the blower unit so as to trace a curved trajectory when viewed from the front of the blower unit.

2. The blower according to claim 1, wherein the control unit operates the blower so as to trace a circular trajectory when viewed from the front of the blower.

3. The blower according to claim 2, wherein when the control unit operates the blower so as to trace a circular trajectory when viewed from the front of the blower, the amount of movement of the blower to one side in a predetermined direction is greater than the amount of movement of the blower to the other side opposite to the first side.

4. The blower according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the blower in a first mode that operates the blower so as to trace a first circular trajectory, and a second mode that operates the blower so as to trace a second circular trajectory larger than the first circular shape, and the control unit switches the operating mode between the first mode and the second mode.

5. A blower comprising: a blower unit; a support unit for supporting the blower unit; and a control unit for controlling the movement of the blower unit relative to the support unit, wherein the control unit operates the blower unit so that, when viewed from the front of the blower unit, it moves in a first direction while reciprocating in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

6. The blower according to claim 5, wherein the amount of movement of the blower to one side in the second direction is greater than the amount of movement of the blower to the other side opposite to the first side.

7. A blower according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: an operating unit for operating the blower unit; a recording unit for storing the trajectory of the operation of the blower unit operated by the operating unit; and a tracing unit for reproducing the operation of the blower unit based on the trajectory stored in the recording unit.

8. The blower according to claim 7, wherein the blower unit includes a fan and a motor for rotating the fan, the control unit controls the motor to control the rotation speed of the fan, and the control unit controls the motor such that the airflow when the blower unit is offset from the front position is higher than the airflow when the blower unit is in the front position.

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